EBay it’s the end for private sellers.

[baddie74]

Well finally after changing the format of their selling platform it seems every couple of weeks you have come up with the ultimate level of stupidity with this latest total ridiculous set of changes. Nobody is going to wait what could be weeks to be paid for a item they have sold who ever dreamt up this idea much be so far from reality as needing to push every part time seller off the site. I knew when they came up with the idea of free selling it wouldn’t be long before the idiots that run eBay came up with totally and ridiculous idea to claw back the money they have lost the whole senior management team at EBay must seat round a table all wearing clown costumes saying what is the most stupid idea we can come with to really get rid of half of our customers and the biggest clown wins with this idea and all the other yes people follow. Well I had started selling a few bits again but never again and will not be using EBay again to sell anything it has become a total joke of a company I hope your poor and flawed decisions finally catch up with this once great place to buy and sell has become a total joke.

[therma-tec]

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@bojangled wrote:

@therma-tec 

They have admitted they make interest on funds, back in October 2023.

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-payment-terms-update-october-2023/

Jo

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Thanks for that!

I could have sworn I read in some ebay post that it now goes into an escrow account?

It looks like they are relying on the couriers lack of scanning to be able to keep hold of some funds a little longer than needed, which I'm sure is perfectly within the law.

Every financial company makes interest on money held in an account, that's the whole business model of a bank, it's all just ones & zeros until you physically have it in your hands.

I have weekly payments set up & doesn't bother me in the slightest that they might make a few pennies intertest every week from me.

Yes it sucks big style for the private sellers & I completely agree this is a complete mess. Maybe they should have looked at holding on to a percentage to begin with to test the waters, rather than the full amount?

The problem is, where else can you sell your items to a worldwide market? Ebay knows fine well they have the monopoly on this so it's sadly a take it or leave it scenario.

[killshotgames]

I know one large seller who is charged over £400 to sell on ebay, yet Amazon charge £75 to sell over numerous of their platforms and far out perform on sales.

I think these ridiculous moves that they make time after time, with very little notice, is to try and get private sellers to become bigger and businesses.

If everyone did it, the platform will become as watered down in a stale marketplace, in which case, there will only be one winner.

Revising all listings is a joke unless you use repricers. Even then, they will probably change the goal posts again.

I'll give it 2 weeks, then make a very serious decision. I can't afford to waste time on jokers.

[sunshinedior67]

It's the hanging onto all funds purely for their own monetary gains that
grinding everyone's gears ❤️

[killshotgames]

ARBITRAGE.

They're all at it and they are using our money. There is NO other reasoning.

We are all in the same boat, but Ebay, or any other company like them will not be the answer.

Short trading on the International Currency Market.

[incredible_how]

If you are a new seller you have had to go through several months of payment 2 days after delivery for some time. My mother did this in November and December, everything was tracked and it seemed to work. But if you have had an ebay account for ages you would not know this. Now of course it will just continue...
It does feel a bit like ebay think private sellers are not to be trusted. I've not had a problem buying, occasionally an item not as described. Had a few problems with buyers who haven't read descriptions [but now I have the app I can sort of see why. Ebay have upheld me in cases brought by said buyers and removed feedback that complained about delivery being one day late, because I had the proof of postage.

[tpogodin]

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It does feel a bit like ebay think private sellers are not to be trusted. 

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It's not just like that, it is that. 

You could be an unrealiable seller with seller performance metrics in the gutter and you get treated exactly the same as the most reliable seller with perfect seller performance metrics. It's a slap in the face to sellers who've stayed loyal to the marketplace and made it the success it has become, some who've been contributing for over 2 decades. It's the eradication of eBay's seller culture which really feels like a big misstep in these policy changes. 

[sunshinedior67]

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@tpogodin wrote:

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It does feel a bit like ebay think private sellers are not to be trusted. 

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It's not just like that, it is that. 

You could be an unrealiable seller with seller performance metrics in the gutter and you get treated exactly the same as the most reliable seller with perfect seller performance metrics. It's a slap in the face to sellers who've stayed loyal to the marketplace and made it the success it has become, some who've been contributing for over 2 decades. It's the eradication of eBay's seller culture which really feels like a big misstep in these policy changes. 

---

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@tpogodin wrote:

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It does feel a bit like ebay think private sellers are not to be trusted. 

---

It's not just like that, it is that. 

You could be an unrealiable seller with seller performance metrics in the gutter and you get treated exactly the same as the most reliable seller with perfect seller performance metrics. It's a slap in the face to sellers who've stayed loyal to the marketplace and made it the success it has become, some who've been contributing for over 2 decades. It's the eradication of eBay's seller culture which really feels like a big misstep in these policy changes. 

---

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@tpogodin wrote:

---

It does feel a bit like ebay think private sellers are not to be trusted. 

---

It's not just like that, it is that. 

You could be an unrealiable seller with seller performance metrics in the gutter and you get treated exactly the same as the most reliable seller with perfect seller performance metrics. It's a slap in the face to sellers who've stayed loyal to the marketplace and made it the success it has become, some who've been contributing for over 2 decades. It's the eradication of eBay's seller culture which really feels like a big misstep in these policy changes. 

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There not even showing private sellers items. You have to scroll & scroll. Listings have no views for days then suddenly they all sell at the same time. When buying I've noticed not only are business sellers at the top but they have duplicate listings filling the page. Does eBay think I haven't seen it

[killshotgames]

I really do not see how why people are suggesting that the reason ebay are holding onto our money is related to buyer protection. Ebay NEVER historically lose out. It's mainly the seller and in very rare cases the buyer.

They are using our money to make ALOT more money and have the cheek to charge buyers for protection! If you see how people's feedback is important, you'll understand how it is important to do a good job, hence stressing the importance of it?

Don't be naive guys...this is ALL ABOUT MONEY, NEVER  ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE THIS A BUSINESS.

[cornishexchange]

Sold on January 21st

Paid for on February 16th.

And I'm the one paying for the shipping before I receive the 

funds !

[bittyboy101]

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@cornishexchange wrote:

Sold on January 21st

Paid for on February 16th.

And I'm the one paying for the shipping before I receive the 

funds !

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That's terrible.

eBay really need to cancel this awful experiment and restore the payment system back to same day payments.

Judging by all the negative feedback posted on these forums and on other websites where eBay payments are now a hot topic, It seems that a fair majority are not happy with this new payments setup now. 

[incredible_how]

If you haven't any money in your account then the postage will get taken from the pending. If you have money it gets taking from that, which confused me mightily, as I expected to still have the £10 from a previous sale and it mysteriously was only £7.30 and the pending for the just sold item was the whole amount including the postage.

And miraculously that item was delivered today and I got paid! 

I use tracked for everything at the moment.

[kgjustnow]

One major issue with holding funds is that sellers have to cover postage costs upfront. If you're shipping internationally, this can be as much as £25 or more, leaving sellers out of pocket for weeks. There are also no safeguards in place for situations where parcels are delayed—whether due to customs processing, extreme weather, or postal strikes.

I'm experiencing this first-hand right now. I sent a package overseas over a week ago, but due to heavy snowfall and ongoing postal strikes, there's no telling when it will arrive. Meanwhile, my money is still on hold.

This policy is completely unfair, especially as postage costs continue to rise. Sellers shouldn’t be left in financial limbo for circumstances beyond their control.

[bittyboy101]

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@kgjustnow wrote:

One major issue with holding funds is that sellers have to cover postage costs upfront. If you're shipping internationally, this can be as much as £25 or more, leaving sellers out of pocket for weeks. There are also no safeguards in place for situations where parcels are delayed—whether due to customs processing, extreme weather, or postal strikes.

I'm experiencing this first-hand right now. I sent a package overseas over a week ago, but due to heavy snowfall and ongoing postal strikes, there's no telling when it will arrive. Meanwhile, my money is still on hold.

This policy is completely unfair, especially as postage costs continue to rise. Sellers shouldn’t be left in financial limbo for circumstances beyond their control.

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I fully agree with you 110%,

It seems the only way round this eBay payment delay problem is to sell on another site where they are still using PayPal and there are no silly payment delays...

Getting your money out of eBay is now very hard and time consuming and posting honest feedback on these forums is a waste of time, as the "eBay people" just go out of their way to jump on here and defend and justify every wrong decision that eBay makes regardless whether people are happy or not... 

[incredible_how]

But when there is not enough in the available balance, or nothing available, the postage has come from the pending balance - of course that's if I buy the postage via ebay, which is what I do now unless I need a royal mail label to arrive with the postie. Trouble is it will eat into the available balance, which I was not expecting...was saving up for something. Though on my last sale the money was released on the day of delivery...

[henley-theatre-services]

Yep closed my personal account this week due to payments taking 2+ weeks and useless customer service, also now being reported to HMRC for selling private items over £1,000 a year is beyond a joke. Our work ebay (this one) has also become dead in sales, i feel there has been a lot of users who have ditched the site in the past few weeks and they will definitely not be attracting new sellers with the new BS rules. Nail in the coffin  

[papso22]

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@henley-theatre-services wrote:

Yep closed my personal account this week due to payments taking 2+ weeks and useless customer service, also now being reported to HMRC for selling private items over £1,000 a year is beyond a joke. Our work ebay (this one) has also become dead in sales, i feel there has been a lot of users who have ditched the site in the past few weeks and they will definitely not be attracting new sellers with the new BS rules. Nail in the coffin  

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Ebay's reports to HMRC are done where sales in the calendar year exceed either 30 items or approx £1,700 (depending on the euro/sterling exchange rate).

[incredible_how]

30 sales is not very many - another reason to sell bundles. Still very unsatisfactory

[henley-theatre-services]

Seller reporting requirements

• Income reporting: Sellers who make over £1,000 per year must register as self-employed and file a tax return 
• Transaction reporting: eBay must report seller income and transaction data to HMRC 

Tax implications

• Failure to declare earnings above the £1,000 threshold can result in penalties, interest charges, or legal action 
• The new tax rules may lead to confusion because the UK tax year runs over a different period from the details being reported to HMRC 

[papso22]

I know all that.

[incredible_how]

Surely registering as self employed is if you sell to make a profit - from things you buy or make.

If you are selling belongings or inherited items (which have been properly assessed for tax) you are not a sole trader i.e self employed. If you buy to sell then yes you are.

If I sold hand crafted items (not on ebay) and my turnover reached £1000 then I would have to register for self assessment - last time I tried to do a self assessment they basically said go away until your turnover is £1000 or more!